2026 Promotions Project

Applications are now open for the
2026–2027 Gonzaga Promotion Project team!

MKTG 490: Promotion Project is an immersive marketing experience where students operate as an agency team to develop a fully integrated marketing campaign for a real national client and compete in the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC).

This year’s client: Rocket Mortgage! 

This is not a traditional lecture-based class. Students should expect a highly collaborative, fast-paced experience with real deadlines, substantial teamwork, critique and revision, and high expectations for the quality of the final work.

Students will contribute to different areas of the campaign, including research, strategy, social media and digital strategy, creative, media strategy and planning, PR, budgeting and campaign evaluation, and more, taking the campaign from initial research insights through final execution. There are also opportunities to serve as a Project Co-Lead and take on significant leadership responsibility.

When applying, please identify the project area(s) that most interest you and where you believe you could contribute to the team. If you are interested in serving as a Project Co-Lead, please indicate that as well.

Interested in joining the team? Email zavala@gonzaga.edu with:

1. The project area(s) you would most like to contribute to, including whether you are interested in serving as a Project Co-Lead
2. Your résume
3. Your portfolio or examples of relevant work, if available
4. A completed One-Slide Challenge

ONE-SLIDE CHALLENGE: 

Show us how you think.

1. Identify three things happening in culture right now that you believe are connected. These could be trends, behaviors, products, memes, news stories, aesthetics, conversations, technologies, or anything else you find interesting.
2. Create ONE slide that connects these three cultural signals and communicates the larger consumer insight you believe they reveal.
3. Keep your slide mostly visual and use no more than 30 words. Cite or link the sources that informed your thinking.
4. Submit a short audio explanation (2 minutes maximum) walking us through what you noticed, why you connected these three signals, and what you think they tell us about consumers or culture.
   There is no single “right” answer. I am interested in your ability to notice something interesting, make connections, and communicate an original point of view.

Promotion Project is designed for students who want to move beyond learning about marketing and experience what it is like to research, strategize, create, defend ideas, build something as a team, and respond to feedback from industry professionals at competition.

Applicants must have completed or be currently enrolled in MKTG 310: Principles of Marketing. Students from different majors, backgrounds, and areas of expertise are encouraged to apply.

The team will be limited to 17 students.

APPLICATIONS DUE: NOVEMBER 1, 2026

Questions? Contact:

MARIELLA ZAVALA, PH.D. Assistant Professor of Marketing
EMAIL: zavala@gonzaga.edu

Competition Travel & Fall Intensive Course

Students interested in traveling to represent Gonzaga at the competition will be required to participate in a Fall 2026 intensive course, in addition to enrolling in the Spring 2027 Promotion Project course.

Students have two enrollment options for the fall intensive:

• 1 credit: Enroll in the intensive for academic credit.
• 0 credits: Participate in the same intensive without earning academic credit or paying tuition.

Both options have the same participation requirements.

*Please indicate your interest in competition travel in your application.

One-Credit Fall Course Description

Promotion Project: Competition Intensive

This is a 1-credit intensive course taken during the fall semester designed to provide early competition preparation for students who will continue into the 3-credit spring semester MKTG 490: Promotion Project course and comprise the traveling competition team.

Enrollment in this course is restricted to students who have been accepted into the 3-credit spring MKTG 490: Promotion Project course. Following acceptance into Promotion Project, students may elect the additional fall component if they wish to make the expanded commitment associated with early competition preparation and participation on the traveling competition team. This course is therefore not a standalone 1-credit elective, but an optional extension of the selective Promotion Project experience

Important Dates

• November 1 - Application deadline
• November 1-6 - Final team selection announced
• November 6 - Mandatory meeting for all selected team members
• November 13-14 - Fall Intensive Course (required for students interested in competition travel)

*Students studying abroad during Fall 2026 are still expected to attend the mandatory November 6 general team meeting virtually.